The day was very foggy. It was supposed to clear in the morning, but has basically lasted all day which made for some cool photos...and cool temperatures for us.
Fort Mason
Formerly known as the US Port of Embarkation for the US Army. It is a former post that served for 100 years, initially as a military port facility. During WWII, it handled almost all of the cargo for the Pacific campaign. Much like Alcatraz, this area began as a part of the construction in San Francisco to prepare defenses for the Civil War. In its hay-day as the major shipping port for Pacific operations, it handled 23.5 million tons of cargo and over 1.6 million passengers, representing two thirds of all Pacific troops and half of all army cargo.
Currently, the fort is a mix of parks and gardens with many of the buildings remaining in use. For Mason Centre, which represents the former port facility has been adapted into a centre for artists galleries, music schools, college campuses, restaurants and the like.
A view from the hill over some of the wharves
Wharf
View of the wharf from the Marina
Marina
The Marina is a great place to walk, not as nice as Coal Harbour, but still a nice place to walk. Too much parking that should be converted into parks. You should be able to see a nice backdrop here that includes the Golden Gate Bridge but you wouldn't even know its there!
Claire was wondering where the dock dog was.
There was a very cool variety of homes, all with great views facing the water, some facing Alcatraz and others the Golden Gate.
Boats
Foggy Golden Gate
Foggy Alcatraz. What a way to make that place creepier.
High end, one-off automobiles.
Palace of Fine Arts
This was originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition to display works of art. This is one of few structures remaining and the only one at its original site. It was rebuilt in 1965, as the original structure was only intended to last a year, it was made out of wood and plaster. After the exposition, most of the buildings were demolished, but this was so beloved that a preservation league was founded to keep the structure. It has been used for many things over the years including an art exhibit, military storage, tennis courts, warehouse, telephone book distribution centre, flag and tent storage depot and a headquarters for the Fire Department. Its pretty amazing that a wood and plaster structure intended to last a year survived for 50. In 1965 it was completely demolished and rebuilt in concrete with steel beams. In 1969 the exhibit hall of the palace become home to the Exploratorium, an interactive museum.
The palace was designed by Bernard Maybeck, who was inspired by Roman and Greek architecture in his design. He also was a pioneer in the push for landscape to be an extension of the architecture and it shows in the integration here.
Uncanny resemblance to me. Weird.
Some incredible houses across the street
Presidio- Crissy Field and Fort Point
The Presidio has an incredible history that I won't even try to summarize. Read Here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidio_of_San_Francisco
Basically, it was first fortified by the Spanish in 1776 as their military centre for colonization. It passed to Mexico and they were too busy making salsa and the US took it in 1848. It was transferred to the National Park Service in 1994, ending 219 years of military use. Pretty cool. It is located adjacent the Golden Gate Bridge, with fantastic vistas over the Bay, the City, Alcatraz and of course the bridge.
We visited 2 areas of the massive 3 square mile area, Crissy Field and Fort Point.
Fort Point- built in 1861, it is a brick fort located under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was completed just ahead of the Civil War to defend the Bay. We couldn't see much of the Fort as it is undergoing renovation.
Crissy Field Centre today is an "urban environmental education centre" with programs for schools to learn about tidal marshes and other environmental exhibits. In the 20's and 30's, Crissy Field was a pioneering military aviation field to test transpacific and transcontinental flights. Basically, they had pilots insane enough to see how far they could fly before running out of fuel...many of them died, including Crissy who was one of the group leaders. He died on the first day. The hangars have been re-purposed to be used as a college classroom, a bike shop, a gym/yoga/rock climbing facility and other similar things.
The best part of this area is the views, so enjoy.
Lots of dog walkers using Crissy Field
Buildings adjacent Crissy Field
Former hangars at the end of the runway
The building in the picture was actually a mine assembly plant. From the 1920's to the end of WWII, the harbour was a maze of mines. Crazy!
Golden Gate and Fort Point
We rode the cablecar back to the hotel. I hung off the side like a boss.
Off to the ballgame, apparently AT&T Park has the best food and biggest beer menu in baseball, so I'm preparing to test that to the limit. Tomorrow will be a more relaxed day, no more 10+ mile walks! We're staying in the Union Square area to do some shopping and checking out Chinatown.
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